Struggling to stay positive, the stock market’s major indices were flat or lower on Thursday afternoon. Investors’ enthusiasm dampened after the first weekly jobless claims figure, released earlier today, came in higher than expected.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%. The S&P 500 also fell 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was nearly flat. Small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed, down 1.2%.
NYSE volume was slightly higher and Nasdaq volume lower than the same time on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 struggled to stay above its 50-day moving average after being below it for two days. The Dow remains well below its 50-day and 21-day moving average. The Nasdaq climbed above its 21-day moving average in early trade.
Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.2%. Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) fell 0.8%.
Crude oil rose 0.3% to $76.85 a barrel. Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is up 0.4%. It has faced resistance at its 50-day moving average.
Bitcoin futures then fell 1.8% to $21,725 Silvergate Capital (SI) announced that it would return deposits and close its doors. The bank specializes in cryptocurrency and digital assets. Silvergate stock pared its losses but still fell 17%.
The US 10-year Treasury yield fell 3 basis points to 3.97%.
European stocks were mostly down, with Germany’s DAX flat and Paris’ CAC slipping 0.1%. London’s FTSE was down 0.6% by the end of the day.
First weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 4th came in at 211k versus the consensus of 195k and up from 190k the previous week. The higher number gives investors hope that the job market will slow, allowing the Federal Reserve to ease its rate hikes.
Friday’s jobs numbers will be monitored for more insight into the job market.
Stock market winners: warehouse traders in the buy zone
BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) rose 4.1% and broke out of a cup and handle basis as shares surpassed a buy point of 76.04. The discount chain chain reported better-than-expected same-store sales. The shares are in the 5% buy zone and hit 79.84.
Uber Technologies (UBER) reversed course and retreated 1% following a Bloomberg report. The divestiture would allow Uber to focus on its ridesharing and meal delivery services.
Blue chip industrial stocks General Electric (GE) climbed 6.8% after the company reiterated its 2023 guidance and shared insights into its aviation business at its investor day on Wednesday. GE was the S&P 500’s biggest gainer at midday.
work management platform asana (ASAN) surged over 22% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales and earnings numbers and issuing an upbeat guidance.
futures fall; Jobs emerge after market breaks through key levels
Stock market: Two financial stocks fall over 30%
SVB Finance Group (SIVB) was decimated, falling over 42% when it was announced it will be offering $1.25 billion worth of shares, and suffered a $1.8 billion loss on the sale of its securities portfolio. Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company is at its lowest in nearly three years.
signature bank (SBNY) fell 7.4% following the Silvergate meltdown. Signature dumped its digital assets amid cryptocurrency woes.
Bank of the First Republic (FRC) lost over 13% on a report that Wedbush removed from its Best Ideas list.
SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) is down more than 5% and is testing long-term support around 43.
Genesco (GCO) tumbled over 12% after the clothing chain released mixed fourth-quarter results and a lower-than-expected full-year earnings forecast.
MongoDB (MDB) collapsed by over 7%. The cloud database company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales at the end of January, but issued a lower-than-expected current-quarter sales guidance late Wednesday. Analysts are forecasting a drop in EPS to 64 cents for the current financial year compared to 81 cents in the previous year.
Etsy (ETSY) tumbled 4.1% after Jefferies downgraded online marketplace stock to underperform from a buy and lowered its price target to 85 from 150. The move sent shares below the 200-day moving average, but Etsy cushioned losses.
Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com (JD) tumbled over 11% after reporting a slight drop in Q4 earnings ahead of Thursday’s opening bell.
CreditSuisse (CS) fell 1.9% after announcing it will postpone its 2022 annual report after the Securities and Exchange Commission raised questions about the financial company’s restated 2019 and 2020 cash flow statements.
Follow Kimberley Koenig on Twitter for more stock news @IBD_KKönig.
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Futures fall ahead of upcoming job reports
